The Princess Blog

Most adaptations of "The Little Mermaid"  do one of two things. They  retell the exact same story with more detail than the original or they turn the whole tale on its head and create something completely different , usually losing what made the story so special in the first place. A Song of Sea and Shore  by Katherine Macdonald lies somewhere in the middle. The best way I can describe it is that it turns the story sideways. Some aspects are exactly the same while others have shifted, such as the mermaid's motivation to visit her human prince. This is the third book I have read from The Fey Collection , and the author takes more liberties with this fairy tale than she did with the other two . Some of the changes lower the stakes for the main character, making it less of an emotionally powerful tale, while others address concerns that critics have brought up with this story for years. Like most incarnations of "The Little Mermaid," Neri is a headstrong and opti

One princess experience that I've always been interested in despite being too old to truly enjoy it is princess party entertainment. These children's entertainment companies exist all over the world for the sole purpose of providing children with the joy of spending an afternoon with their favorite cartoon character. They are more accessible than theme park princesses  because they come right to your home without the expense and stress of planning a trip. I wanted to save this topic for when I have a little princess of my own to share this experience with, but when a UK-based group called Snow Princess Parties  requested that I share some of their magic in my blog, I couldn't resist. Here are some examples of the wonderful experiences they have to offer. While I have not personally had the honor of inviting a princess into my home for one of my past birthday parties, I did have a memorable experience assisting Belle at a local party company in Southern California as a favo

The latest visual novel in Time Princess  is a little more historical than the last few , though it has nothing to do with actual princesses or royalty. Trendy Times takes place right before the Great Depression when women started wearing pants in public for the first time. It is about a fashion designer who is determined to put pants for ladies on the market even though it is a foreign concept at the time. Due to the fashion designer angle, the story has some unique outfits that stand out from other dress-up items in the game as well as beautiful illustrations that are done in an art deco style. Like Spring Sonata, the visual novel aspects are very clear-cut with theirs decisions. Most choices either trigger a bad ending or move the story forward, so there's no need to replay levels multiple times to see all of the endings. Marguerite Gautier is an orphan whose only dream is to put her design ideas for women's pants on the market even though the concept of a woman wearing pant

While we wait with bated breath for the live-action remake  of Chip'n'Dale: Rescue Rangers  this Friday, Disney+  dropped two lower-profile releases last Wednesday. Though not exactly the next Disney Princess films, the new musical,  Sneakerella , and the fantasy reality series,  The Quest , both contain princess elements to some extent. While I didn't exactly have high hopes for Sneakerella , I was expecting it to be more entertaining than a washed up reality show. It turns out I was completely wrong. Before I begin breaking these down, I have to give them both props for originality. In an era of sequels and remakes , it's impressive for Disney to give us a fresh take on anything at all, and both offerings provide unique versions of entertainment that are unlike anything we've seen before. A fantasy reality series sounds like an oxymoron when so many reality shows are already scripted to an extent. I was expecting The Quest to be more like a recording of a group of

Kingdom of Thorns  by Katherine Macdonald  does not offer anything I haven't already seen in a "Sleeping Beauty" retelling, so I was hesitant to read it at first. In recent years, it has become traditional for the princess to fight against her curse , so that is something I have always come to expect from modern-day retellings. I even read another version where she uses astral projection to communicate while sleeping so she can still consent to the controversial kiss . Yet, this book manages to hit all the right marks in all the right places, combining everything great about fantasy novels and fairy tale adaptations in a way that's both engaging and interesting. Both protagonists are fleshed-out characters with hopes and fears just like any ordinary person. Their love is so strong and pure that it makes you want to read all the way to their "happily ever after" despite knowing that it's coming already. Prince Leo is not a hero. He is not prone to slayi

There is no fairy tale that has been retold as many times as "Cinderella."  With a new jukebox musical on Amazon Prime  and West End stage show from Andrew Lloyd Webber , the story has no shortage of modern-day retellings. That's why I couldn't bring myself to get excited when I heard that Jennifer Lopez is developing a limited series  based on Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella  with Skydance Television  and Concord Originals . This version alone has had three made-for television films and a 2013 Broadway revival starring Broadway Princess Party 's Laura Osnes . Can you blame me for not feeling at least a little skeptical of yet another version of this rags-to-riches classic that the media has shoved down our throats for years? What's even more concerning about the announcement is that it is not another feature-length film, but instead a limited series with multiple episodes written by Rachel Shukert , who worked on Netflix series GLOW and The Baby-Sit

Some of you might be wondering why I'm reviewing a DS game that came out 17 years ago. I had some recommendations to play Super Princess Peach on my old video game post , and I've always been a little curious about it. After all, there hasn't been a good handheld princess game since the Disney Princess Game Boy Advance game that came out almost 20 years ago. Disney makes great movies, but they don't make very good games outside of the Kingdom Hearts series , which has also been questionable of late . On the other hand, Nintendo is built entirely on its history of great games, and the Super Mario series is one of the most popular. Though Super Princess Peach does little to develop Peach's personality or backstory, it is a fun game that reverses that standard story structure where Mario must rescue Peach from Bowser. This time, Peach is the one who has to save Mario. If I had to describe Super Princess Peach in one word, it would be "cute." Like most inca

It's been a little over a year since the tragic ending of WandaVision , which presented some of the classic Disney Princess archetypes in an innovative and contemporary way . Ever since it ended, Disney has teased that the conclusion of Wanda Maximoff's story would be revealed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , which was released in theaters last weekend. I enjoyed this movie, but I will not be giving it a full review. Instead, I would like to open up yet another discussion about the direction the media is going with female characters in modern times . As the Disney Princess genre pushes more in the direction of superhero films with characters like Raya  and Elsa , Disney doesn't know what to do with those who exhibit traits of classic Disney Princesses like Snow White . Right now, the best solution they have is turning them into villains  like they did with the title character in Cruella  last year. I am under no delusion that the Scarlet Witch is not suppos

"Beauty and the Beast"  is one of the most popular fairy tales for novel adaptations next to "Cinderella."  Given how similar these adaptations can become, it's important for authors to add some new elements to the story. Beauty and the Beast and the Enchantress  by Finley Aaron is one book to attempt this. It is told from the perspective of the enchantress and parallels the romance between Beauty and the beast with a second love story that is the true heart of the book. The problem is that so much of this book focuses on the story we already know that the newer romance is rushed and underdeveloped. Still, it provides an interesting concept about some of the psychological and existential elements of the fairy tale that are often overlooked. Beauty and the Beast and the Enchantress  introduces Rosalina as the character who cursed a prince named Alexander to become a beast. However, she does not do this out of spite, nor does she put much consideration into the r

Time Princess  released its latest visual novel so quickly after  the last one  that I barely had time to breathe. Compared to the other visual novels in this game, Spring Sonata is most similar to  Whispers of the Rain  since it takes place in a more realistic contemporary setting and Si-woo's Sight  because the protagonist is an aspiring musician in Korea. It certainly isn't the next historical fantasy novel I was hoping for, but it was quick and entertaining enough for a short weekend. The story is very straightforward and only has one true ending, so there is little reason to replay most of the levels. Spring Sonata is about a young cellist named Jeong Si-eun who attends a prestigious music school in Korea. I found this character difficult to relate to at first because she is quite pretentious about her musical knowledge and skills. Because of this, she has trouble making friends at her new school and doesn't understand how to play with emotion. Over the course of the g

Magic in Mauve  by Nonona Gerikh is a book that appeared in my inbox as if by magic. It is a similar take on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants  with a more feminine flair since the traveling clothing item in question is a frilly mauve skirt that makes its way to a number of women around the world including a Middle Eastern princess. The book is a quick read that doesn't spend a lot of time delving into the lives of each woman who was touched by the "magical" skirt, which makes it a light-hearted book for a rainy afternoon. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a quick fix of female empowerment and doesn't want to think too hard. Magic in Mauve  has four and a half-ish protagonists, but its real starring role goes to the mauve skirt that brings them all together. The skirt is crafted by a woman named Monique, who dreams of her magical wedding and honeymoon as she lovingly chooses the fabric and assembles it on her sewing machine. Her dream of marria